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Monday, 24 November 2014

Hello readers!You know those moments where you are waiting at the airport for your plane, when you are about to set off on your next mission or those times when you are returning home after your last one and you just don't know how to fill your time?

Well, have no fear, this little series aims to fill you with inspiration so you will never experience a wasted moment in the 'no-persons-land' of airport departures or arrivals again!If I could take you back in time for a minute, the first post in this series showed what you could do on the travellator in between terminals or on your way to the gate here. The second revealed how to have some fun while in the queue at check-in here. The last post demonstrated just what you could do, if you were so inclined, while waiting for your luggage to be regurgitated at baggage reclaim here. So what next? Imagine you are at a large, international airport with your colleagues... and you are all a bit bored. Perhaps this video will give you some much needed inspiration (but top tip, make sure your head of mission is not with you at the time).

Did you enjoy that? The possibilities are endless... I'd be interested to hear from you so please feel free to drop me a line in the comments below, or connect with me on the Blondebombshell in Crises Facebook page here or Twitter here and tell me your favourites ways to prevent boredom at airports. Meanwhile, pass this on, spread the lurve people!Peace, love and light,B.B.C. xxx

Wednesday, 19 November 2014

Hello readers, Were you all aware that 19th November is World Toilet Day? I wasn't until today. I say, what a delightful name for a universal day, which aims to raise awareness about all of those people, who do not have access to a toilet despite the basic human right to water and sanitation. To read all the details click here . Did you know there are at least 101 alternative words for toilet? Yes indeed, I checked it out. Click here if you don't believe me. Some of my favourites are 'big white phone'(that sounds like something Lady Ga Gawould wear), 'house of ease' (...almost Spacey), 'thunder box' (...are go) and 'white hart room' (very GoT). What are your favourites? I would imagine if the word 'toilet' was replaced with some of the other alternatives on that list, such as 'Oval Office', 'London', 'Jericho' or 'The Vin', this would result in worldwide confusion at best or several international diplomatic incidents at worst! Imagine President Obama saying to the First Lady "I'm just going to the Oval Office honey" and Michelle replying "Well, don't forget to put the seat down afterwards."

And let's not forget the well-intentioned gender specialists, who would probably insist on some further clarification so World Toilet Day would become the "Ladies, Gents, Little Boys'/Little Girls' and Transgendered Individuals' Room Day" for the sake of inclusion.

While the aim of World Toilet Day is indeed a commendable endeavour, as we aidworkers can quickly relate to the awkward experience of being caught short on many occasion in the field, I find the strapline calling for action "Say thank you to your toilet on World Toilet Day" slightly disturbing, don't you?No? Maybe its just me then...

As if we aidworkers don't have enough to do and now we have to go around talking to inanimate objects and holes in the ground! Whose bright idea was that? (I'm guessing some UN-ocrat in New York or Geneva...no, of course not, it must have been an entire task team). Anyway, how does one address a latrine or lavatory for example? Are there any IASC guidelines on best practice and terminology e.g. Communicating With Your Toilet? Honestly, its enough to drive you round the U-bend.

I wonder what would happen if the toilets talked back? Would there be a twitter feed inviting loos to 'join the conversation' on the World Toilet Day website?

This could open up a whole new world of toilet humour. Once latrines have found their respective voices, there will be no going back. There will be no escape....not even off duty. You have been warned.

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On that note, just like loo paper, Blonde Bombshell in Crises is on a roll and will end this post here...wouldn't want it to go down the pan...

However, B.B.C would be interested to hear from you so please feel free to drop her a line in the comments below, or connect on the Blondebombshell in Crises Facebook page here or Twitter here .

I picked this song especially for you, I think it will touch your heart and be food for your soul, it's called "For Humanity's Sake" and you can watch Nahko Bear and Hope Medfordvibing below:

And for those of you who want to dive into those powerful and inspiring lyrics, here they are:

For Humanity's Sake

I hold my breath,

I hold my breath,

Have my head above the water,

Have my arms in by my side,

I swear that I'm not drowning,

I've been provided for this time,

Swim through my conditions,

Integrate my train of thought,

With emancipation I'm learning to tie knots.

I hold my breath,

I hold my breath,

For humanity's sake,

For the way we hold the space,

For every colour, every race or political taste,

Each repeated mistake,

What a habit, what a waste,

To take, take, take more than you need,

An unconscious thing,

Many have been silenced,

But I have come to sing.

Soon to exhale,

Soon to set sail,

There are men who cast their nets,

In search of purpose and respect,

Comin' back with empty nests,

Forgotten all their privileges,

I watch them pass on the sidewalk,

I drink my coffee, write my thoughts,

Check the weather, check my watch,

I'm waitin' for the sun to drop,

So I can start a fire and signal all the plain,

The world's about to shift again and we'll never be the same.

We ought take things far more personal,

Oh what do we stand for and is it salvageable.

What songs mean the most to you when you are travelling to and from mission, or when you are out in the field, or hanging out with team mates in your team house? I'd love to hear from you. Connect with me via the comment box below, or on my Twitter page hereor Facebook page here.Keep on hummin', keep on strumming and keep on vibing!

Well hello there readers!Just when you thought it was safe...the Blonde Bombshell in Crises is back on the blog and ready to shake up the status quo of the humanitarian world. Fasten your seat belts, this is going to be one hell of a ride from now on. I hope you have your quick run kit at the ready...

This post follows on from another post I did a while ago called “The DAO of UNDAF” in which I talked about the Delivering As One agenda of the United Nations system based on a couple of my experiences on mission to the UN in two different countries of the world. So feel free to take a look at that if you haven't already. While I was listening to tunes on my iPod the other day, I was struck by the powerful lyrics of Bob Marley’s song “One Love” and I found myself reflecting on the foundations of the United Nations (as you do). So my mind took a meandering trip (without psychotropic help, just in case you were wondering ...) over to that bed rock of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and various other human rights instruments that member states have signed up to and ratified. The UDHR is a very noble venture because it provides a perceived shared set of values to work with and something to strive for. You and I know there are many people and organisations out there trying to strive for these human rights to be realised. Why? Because they give each of us a sense of our own identity, while belonging to the wider human race, that in essence we are equal and respected, our rights will be respected, our needs met, we will be safe and protected from the very worst aspects of our human condition and can look forward to a future where every person has enough. Yet, you and I also know that the reality on the ground in humanitarian crises and disaster response is very different, that although rights are there and legal instruments are in place, people still get violated and war and injustices are an everyday occurrence. We are far from equal.Thinking about this, I find it quite ironic that the very structures set up to unite the world around common platforms of rights and action, do, in fact the opposite. The concept of the 'United Nations' has the effect of reinforcing the separateness of each country by national boundaries. This emphasises a separateness of identity and sets nations apart and their peoples as 'The Other'. That is why, when you get a massive outbreak of conflict and multiple violations of human rights occur, the United Nations ends up being rendered a large, ungainly, blundering creature dragging its knuckles on the ground...

...rendered inert when it matters most. For example on the Security Council, certain member states are perceived to have more power and more decision making clout than others and, therefore, can veto ways forward for the common good, leading to an awkward stalemate, more weeping, wailing and gnashing of political teeth, then there is an insipid compromise. Delay after delay stacks against timely, appropriate and incisive action. (Gosh this is turning into a rather downbeat post isn't it, sorry about that folks...it gets better though so please read on.)So I’m just putting it out there for you that there is a huge irony in this situation we have. We put human rights instruments and the UN up there on their glittering pedestals when in fact they are just re-enforcing the social and political construct of our separateness. Our reality is very different however and I shall explain.At the same time as listening to Bob, I became aware of another synchronicity that is directly relevant. I saw this picture on the Facebook page of Nassim Harramein.

To me this is a powerful picture. What the world sees at ground level, from media, politics, education, social conditioning etc is the picture on the left. A world of flags depicting a colourful multitude of clubs, where people belong to one or two of the clubs but not all of them, adding weight to the concept of separateness and "The Other". This plays into the media programming of fear, 'we must fear the other, there are not enough resources to go around, so we must take our national interests first and put them up front at all costs and trample on everyone else'. In contrast, taking a view from space you can’t see the national boundaries, the world looks like one, unified, beautiful, colourful, intact and seamless planet. There is no separateness. Nassim Harramein is a scientists in the field of quantum physics and specifically resonance. Check out his webpage The Resonance Project and if you want to hear more about is take a few moments to watch this video interview conducted by Lilou Mace. His Unified Field Theory and applications thereof are mind-blowing, paradigm-shifting and world changing.

The fact is we are so small, the universe is bigger than all of us and (and inside us too as Nassim has proved mathematically that the entire mass of the universe is also contained within a single proton). We are all passing through and connected to each other and to everything else in the universe. The planet doesn’t belong to us. We belong to the planet, we are integral parts of the earth, each other, every living being and vibrating object and the universe. So why on earth are we wasting our time killing each other, stealing resources and destroying the planet under the grand fearful illusion that there is not enough to go around and that The Others will get there first. For me that image above is the embodiment of Bob Marley’s song "One Love". We are one love, we are one heart, so let's get together and feel alright, yeah? I’ll just leave you with that thought for now.

What are your views on oneness? I'd like to hear from you so feel free to comment below or on the Blondebombshell in Crises Facebook page here or Twitter here.Ta very muchly for reading and if you liked this, pass it on....spread the lurve and joy and grow the tribe. Peace, love and light,xxx

Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Hello readers!Happy Guy Fawkes Day/Night everyone! It's nice to celebrate failure now and again isn't it? Poor Mr. Fawkes, I mean, as far as revolutionaries go, this guy was on fire...

While Russell Brand and Anonymous are calling for revolution,(see the Million Mask March,today). I thought it appropriate to play you revolutionary tune.Here is T-Rex and Children of the Revolution. So mask up, put your glam boots on and rock out to this...(and if you can do that while peacefully protesting for truth, justice and freedom from oppression, even better...)

Saturday, 1 November 2014

I just want to apologise to all of you readers out there for my absence from my blogsite these past few months. I’ve been away for a while. You know how things are at times. Life is not a straight line. Things come along that you just have to deal with...Well, I've now been able to reach a point where I can unleash my creativity on you all once again...look out world...On that note I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to comment on blog posts or if you’d like to engage with me on my Facebook page then click here or on my Twitter page clickhere. I dare you to give me some suggestions on the humanitarian or development issues you’d like me to explore! Come on people, get creative. For now thanks every so much for reading the Blonde Bombshell in Crises (b.b.c.) journey so far. Do get in touch, keep reading and spread the word by Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or however you like.Let's grow this tribe!